III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 156 

Calling on the Government of the Russian Federation to release United 

States citizen Paul Whelan. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Ms. STABENOW) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on the Government of the Russian Federation to 

release United States citizen Paul Whelan. 

Whereas United States citizen Paul Whelan is a resident of 

Novi, Michigan, and a veteran of the Marine Corps; 

Whereas, on December 22, 2018, Paul Whelan traveled to 

Moscow, Russia, for the wedding of a personal friend; 

Whereas, on December 28, 2018, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation arrested Paul Whelan at 

the Metropol Hotel in Moscow and charged him with espionage; 

Whereas the Federal Security Service has never provided any 

evidence of supposed wrongdoing with respect to Paul 

Whelan; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 156 IS 

Whereas Paul Whelan was imprisoned in Lefortovo Prison 

and was held in pretrial detention at the prison for more 

than 19 months after his arrest; 

Whereas a Moscow court extended Paul Whelan’s pretrial detention multiple times without publicly presenting justification or evidence of wrongdoing; 

Whereas even Vladimir Zherebenkov, the lawyer appointed by 

the Federal Security Service to represent Paul Whelan, 

said on May 24, 2019, ‘‘[The Federal Security Service] 

always roll[s] out what they have, but in this case, we’ve 

seen nothing concrete against Whelan in five months. 

That means there is nothing.’’; 

Whereas then-United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Jon Huntsman, responded on April 12, 2019, to 

a question about the detention of Paul Whelan, ‘‘If the 

Russians have evidence, they should bring it forward. We 

have seen nothing. If there was a case, I think the evidence would have been brought forward by now.’’; 

Whereas then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on May 14, 2019, 

and urged him to ensure United States citizens are not 

unjustly held abroad; 

Whereas the Kremlin has refused to provide Paul Whelan 

with full access to his lawyer, and the so-called evidence 

against Paul Whelan and any evidence he has seen is in 

Russian, a language Whelan does not read or speak; 

Whereas the Lefortovo pretrial detention facility and the 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to provide medical 

treatment for Paul Whelan’s medical condition, despite 

being aware of its worsening state, resulting in emergency surgery on May 29, 2020; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 156 IS 

Whereas Paul Whelan was wrongfully convicted on June 15, 

2020, and sentenced to 16 years in a Russian labor camp 

by a three-judge panel, in a trial witnessed by United 

States Ambassador John Sullivan, who referred to the 

trial as ‘‘a mockery of justice’’ due to the denial of a fair 

trial and the exclusion of defense witnesses; 

Whereas, in August 2020, on an unknown day, Paul Whelan 

was secretly transferred to camp IK–17, a penal labor 

camp in Mordovia, Russia, where he is forced to work 6 

days a week in a garment factory; 

Whereas Ambassador John Sullivan, while visiting Paul 

Whelan at the labor camp in Mordovia, stated that ‘‘Russian authorities . . . have never shown the world evidence of his guilt,’’ and reiterated his call for the Russian 

authorities to correct this injustice and release Paul 

Whelan; 

Whereas Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on February 4, 

2021, and urged him to release United States citizens detained in the Russian Federation, including Paul Whelan 

and Trevor Reed, so that they are able to return home 

to their families in the United States; 

Whereas, on July 23, 2021, the Senate unanimously passed 

a bipartisan resolution calling for the release of Whelan; 

Whereas, in August 2021, Whelan was released from a 

month-long stay in a solitary confinement at the IK–17 

penal colony in the region of Mordovia; 

Whereas Secretary Blinken ‘‘pressed’’ the Kremlin to accept 

an offer by the United States that would bring Paul 

Whelan and Brittney Griner home in July 2022; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 156 IS 

Whereas, in November 2022, Paul Whelan was unable to contact his family for more than a week, during which time 

Russian authorities claimed Whelan had been sent to the 

hospital; 

Whereas Russian authorities refused to release Paul Whelan 

as part of the prisoner exchange in December 2022; 

Whereas Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, ‘‘His detention remains unacceptable, and we continue to press 

for his immediate release at every opportunity’’; and 

Whereas President Biden stated that his administration had 

‘‘not forgotten about Paul Whelan,’’ and promised to 

‘‘keep negotiating in good faith for his release’’: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) implores the Government of the Russian 

3 Federation to immediately release Paul Whelan from 

4 imprisonment; 

5 (2) implores the Government of the Russian 

6 Federation to comply with international treaty obli7 gations and provide unrestricted consular access to 

8 Paul Whelan while he remains imprisoned in the 

9 Russian Federation; 

10 (3) calls on the Government of the Russian 

11 Federation to provide Paul Whelan and all other po12 litical prisoners their constitutionally afforded due 

13 process rights and universally recognized human 

14 rights; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 156 IS 

1 (4) expresses the sincere thanks of the United 

2 States to the Governments of Canada, Ireland and 

3 the United Kingdom for their support in attempting 

4 to release Paul Whelan; and 

5 (5) expresses sympathy to the family of Paul 

6 Whelan for this travesty to justice and personal 

7 hardship and expresses hope that their ordeal can 

8 soon be brought to a just end. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS